Minds: Book One

Chapter Two

        I think she's joking but the smile drops from her face and is replaced with a look of seriousness.
        “What are you talking about?” I ask with a voice that is more stern that I had intended it to be. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
        “Isaac some terrible people are going to take you. I was sent here to rescue you from these people that are coming for you.” She stares at me for a second before continuing, “now you need to drive to your house, pack up some clothes, and come with me.” I look back at the steering wheel. What is she talking about? Who are these “terrible people” she is talking about. I shifted in my seat suddenly uncomfortable. I look back at Alice, she is staring at me with pleading eyes. I can tell she isn't lying. I can trust her.
        “Okay,” I say as I start my car and drive quickly to my house.

        My dad isn't home from work, but he will be soon. Alice sits on the foot of my bed as I run around my room throwing a bunch of things into one of my old football bags. I grab my car keys and look over at her, “Okay let’s go.” She stands up shaking her head.
        “No we can’t take your car, we are taking mine.” She starts to walk out of my room and down the stairs.
        “But we drove here in my car.” I follow her out of the front door. When I look around I see a brand new black Mercedes SUV parked behind my shitty little blue neon. My mouth drops open in shock.
        “But, wait, how, when, WHAT?” I say.  She looks back at me and rolls her eyes.
        “It was dropped off five minutes ago. Now let’s go.” She climbs into the driver side. It was dropped off by who? After a moment I rush over to the passenger side and get in. Alice looks tiny driving this big SUV. I let out a little laugh.
        “Oh shut up,” she says. I sit back in my seat relaxing a little.
        “So who are these very bad people trying to kidnap me?” I ask.  Alice lets out a sharp breath.
        “These people aren’t trying to just kidnap you, they are trying to kidnap you and kill you.” My eyes widen.
        “What?” I ask.
        “Isaac these people are horrible. They kidnap people like us and run a bunch of tests to try and understand how our brains function. When they are done with you, they kill you.” I try to swallow the lump that appears in my throat. She looks over at me.
        “These people need to be stopped, They have taken too many lives.” Her hands get so tight at the wheel her knuckles turn white. She is thinking about a younger girl with long, curly, blonde hair around the age of nine that is laying on a metal table with a bunch of wires stuck to her head and arms.
        “Was that your sister?” I ask in a quiet voice.
        “Yes,” she says through clenched teeth. I try to get in her head again but she stops me.
Stay out of my head Isaac. Her voice says in my head.
        “How do you do that?” Her hands loosen at the wheel slightly. She looks over at me with a small smile and says,
        “I’ll teach you.”

        We drive the rest of the way in silence. We drive to a little house somewhere in the mountains. Alice parks in front of the house next to two other trucks.
        “Who lives here?” I ask as I stare at the house. It's old but in decent shape. It's two stories tall and has a little porch with an old rocking chair on it. All of the windows have the curtains closed and the light blue paint is chipping off. She knocks on the door and says, “Some friends of mine.” I wait next to her until someone opens the door. He is at least six feet tall and has skin as dark as chocolate. He has no hair on his head except for a little goatee on his chin. His apperance comes off as scary but he has kind eyes. A big smile spreads from ear to ear on his face when he sees Alice.
        “Hey Alice!” She smiles at him.
        “Hi Richard!” He bends down and wraps his arms around her little waist and picks her up. With her arms around his neck he spins her around in a tight circle. After he puts her down he looks over at me then back at Alice. He nods towards me.
        “Is this Isaac?” He asks in a strong voice. She nods and says, “Is Nick here?” She looks around Richard and into the little room. Richard nods his head and says, “Yeah he is in the kitchen. Come on in.” He side steps and invites us into the house.  A guy walks into the room who looks familiar to me. He gets a big smile on his face the same way that Richard did when he saw Alice. He rushes over to her and engulfs her into a big hug that looks somewhat painful.
        “Alice I missed you!” He says as he lifts her up.
        “I missed you too Nick.” She says in a strange voice. After he sets her down he notices me in the room.
        “Hi Isaac.” He smiles at me but doesn't move towards me.
        “You guys can sleep in the guest bedroom,” Nick says after he sinks down into the couch. Alice glances back at me and gestures for me to follow her. We walk down the hall and into a little room with a bed, a dresser, and a little desk. She turns around and locks her eyes with mine.
        “Do you mind sharing a bed?” she laughs and adds, “Silly question of course you don’t mind.” I can feel my cheeks getting red and I look down. She grabs some clothes out of the dresser and says, “We should get ready for bed. We have to wake up early in the morning to get back on the road.” She smiles at me as she walks out of the room. I quickly change into my pajamas which consists of just a t-shirt and some old basketball shorts. I sit on the foot of the bed until Alice comes back into the room. She nods toward the bed as she shut the door.
        “Which side do you want?” I just shrug my shoulders in response. She walks over to the bed and pulls away the covers and climbs to the side that is pushed up against the wall. I climb under the covers and lay my head down on the pillow. I stare at the ceiling. Alice shifts in bed to look at me.
        “So will you teach me how to do that thing?” She sits up in bed.
        “Sit up and close your eyes,” she says. I do what she says.
        “Okay now try to picture my face in your head and just try to say something.” I try to picture her face in my head and say can you hear me? When I don't get a response I open my eyes and look at her.
        “Try again.” I close my eyes again and say can you hear me now? I wait for a response and try again. Alice can you hear me?
Still nothing.
This time I try to almost feel her presence in my head and say Hi Alice. After a few seconds I finally hear her sweet voice in my head.
Hi Isaac. I open my eyes and see her beaming at me. “You did it!”
Yeah I did! She smiles at me and pulls me into her arms.